The Queensland Government’s four hundred million dollar  program to eradicate  fire ants has failed to deliver its goal in stopping the march of pests in areas of the State’s southeast. 

Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud says we are halfway through the ten-year national program lead by the Queensland Government, and it is not on target or budget. 

An independent review into the program is being undertaken and aims to improve results.

The Queensland Human Rights Commission is struggling to deal with the ongoing influx of enquiries regarding public health directives amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The state’s top human rights body which normally deals with complaints surrounding discrimination and harassment have been overwhelmed with calls about the ever-changing restrictions facing Queenslanders, so much so that they have released an FAQ sheet. 

An English backpacker who worked as a waitress in Sydney has won her battle with the Australian Tax Office over the so-called backpacker tax in the High Court..

The woman claimed she had been discriminated against because of her nationality when she was made to pay tax at a different rate to Australian residents. 

Under the agreement between Britain and Australia backpackers paid a flat rate of 15% without the benefit of the tax free threshold.

Other backpackers caught by the same rule have been waiting on today’s decision. 

Migration lawyers have expressed concerns over the Administrative Appeals Tribunals Latest report, which revealed the tribunal is under-resourced to process the immense backlog of visa applications, despite the number of new applications being reduced due to COVID-19 related border closures.

AAT president David Thomas says the tribunal is not sufficiently resourced to substantially reduce their on hand caseload. 

Migration issues currently take up 86 per cent of cases with the tribunal, which also deals with disability and pension support.

Facebook will shut down its facial recognition system and delete the face print data of 1 billion users after growing concerns about the technology and its misuse.

Facebook’s new parent company Meta has announced the change will represent one of the largest shifts in facial recognition usage in the technology’s history. 

It is believed the company was trying to weigh the positive use of facial recognition, against social concerns and unclear rules from regulators.

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and ex-European Football Association (UEFA) president Michel Platini have been charged with fraud over unlawfully arranging a payment of $2.94 million. 

The Office of the Attorney-General of Switzerland has said the two men were indicted following a six-year investigation into the payment Blatter authorised from FIFA to Platini in 2011.

Blatter and Patini were both banned from football in 2016 for the payment, however both men maintain their innocence as the investigation continues.

Scientists from the University of Southern Queensland are developing new technologies that will allow astronauts to grow food on the moon.

The Artificial Intelligence software will use sensors to analyse plants onboard space flights, to detect early signs of stress, allowing astronauts to repair any damage as soon as possible.

USQ Agronomist Dr Jacob Humpal says automating as much of the agricultural process is vital to astronaut performance, as they can then focus on tasks that must be conducted manually.

A COVID-19 vaccination mandate for aged care visitors in Queensland has been recommended by the peak body, Aged and Community Services Australia. 

The body is currently working with consumer groups and the country’s chief health officers on a revised industry code for visitation to residential aged care. 

Chief Executive Office of Aged and Community Services Australia Paul Sadler,  says because aged care homes contain our most vulnerable group of people in the pandemic, and everyone who visits aged care should bring the protection of a vaccine with them.